"Da Neng, why are you walking into the river? Why don't you listen to your mother calling you? Huh? Da Neng, have you gone mad? Why are you going into the water for no reason! You were so close, so close that your mother couldn't save you."

"The great being then came to his senses. He looked down and realized that he, who had been walking in the woods, was now in a river, with the water already up to his neck. The splash of red he had just seen was nowhere to be seen..."

Yan Xia described it vividly.

Everyone was stunned.

"Mother, and then what?"

While she was drinking water, Chang Yi couldn't wait to ask.

"Then, the powerful being was dragged ashore by his mother..."

"......"

The room was very lively, with Yan Xia telling ghost stories on one side and the sound of cards being played on the other.

They are incompatible, yet they are harmonious.

At noon, the maids brought the pot directly into the main room; when the weather is cold, hot pot is the perfect dish.

There are three flavors: one is a chicken broth base made from pork ribs, another is a spicy broth, and the third is a mushroom broth, which contains more than a dozen kinds of mushrooms that have been simmered for a long time and are incredibly delicious!

There are too many people.

That's why there were only two tables, barely enough for everyone to sit down.

As for the maids and servants, they ate in the kitchen, where they also ate hot pot.

"Big brother, I want to eat mutton, please put a plate on it for me," Chang Yi said to Chang Fu, pointing to the mutton.

The dishes for the food were placed on the wooden cart, close to Changfu.

So he became the person who put vegetables into the hot pot full-time.

"Okay, I'll put it in for you. Changyu, what would you like to eat? And what about you guys?"

Since I was already standing up, I decided to ask everyone.

"Big brother, I'd like some potato chips."

"I eat smoked sausage."

"Brother, give me some pig brains."

"My dear husband, I'll just eat cabbage."

"Eldest son, get your mother some chicken gizzards!"

After several rounds of busy work, Chang Fu's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat.

He didn't complain at all.

The room was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

The same applies in the kitchen.

However.

At the foot of the low hill in Baihua Village, a simple wooden house was unusually quiet, a stark contrast to the bustling Yan Mansion.

Fortunately, the quiet atmosphere didn't last long.

Zhao Yuefang and Luo Bai walked out of the room and stood outside the door arguing.

"I'm asking you this: is this child mine or not? If you're lying to me, this child won't live to see tomorrow!"

Luo Bai's eyes were bloodshot.

His voice trembled slightly, whether from the cold or from excessive excitement.

"How can you be so heartless? These past few days, while you were away, do you know how my child and I have been? Your father is still missing, and no one has helped me. You've only been back for less than a month, and you're already suspicious of this and that. You might as well not have come back at all! Why is my life so miserable? I've married you and haven't enjoyed any blessings. In the middle of the snow, I even had to go out with you to find bamboo shoots in the mountains. I must have been blind to have married such a wretch!"

Zhao Yuefang did not answer him.

Instead, he began to complain.

“Since I came back, do you know what the villagers have been saying about me? They say I’m a cuckold, raising someone else’s son. They say our son doesn’t look like me at all. You and I have big eyes and high noses, but this child has squinty eyes and a bulbous nose, he’s ugly as hell! Do you dare say he’s my son? Yuefang, I know you’ve suffered, so I’ve become a cuckold! I accept it! As long as you give this child away, I’ll pretend nothing happened, and we’ll have our own children in the future, okay?”

Luo Bai loved Zhao Yuefang terribly.

If he hadn't discovered Zhao Yuefang squatting in the kitchen for a long time after they had been in the same room, he would never have brought this matter to light.

"What are you doing squatting in the kitchen? You don't want to get pregnant with my child, do you? You couldn't wait to leave right after we finished. I thought you were just being clean. Ha, I was so stupid. You never intended to live a good life with me! Yuefang, I'm tired. I'm giving you two choices: one, you take the child and go back to your parents' house; two, you give the child away, and we'll let this go and live a good life together from now on."

Luo Bai knew the Zhao family's temperament well.

They will never tolerate Zhao Yuefang and her son.

Therefore, the first option is simply not feasible.

"I beg you, Zhuangzhuang is the child I gave birth to with my life. I admit he's not yours, but I only found out I was pregnant after I divorced Zhou Yiliu. I can't bear to abort him. Husband, please, just give him a bite to eat. I won't squat anymore, I'll never squat again. We'll have our own child, okay? Please, give him a way to live. I beg you. If you don't agree, I'd rather freeze to death here with the child."

Zhao Yuefang knelt in the snow, sobbing uncontrollably.

She cried.

Luo Bai softened his heart.

"Fine, as long as you get pregnant with my child before next summer, I'll accept this son."

Anyway, he drove Zhao Yuefang away and didn't have the money to marry another wife.

It's better to keep it; he loves it just fine.

Luo Bai helped Zhao Yuefang into the house.

Soon after, the creaking sound of wooden planks could be heard from inside.

The heavy snow lasted for five days.

It didn't stop completely until the sixth day.

The snow depth increased from knee-thickness to thigh-high.

Many houses in the villages have collapsed, making the situation even worse than last year.

When the snow stops, it's time for every household to clear the snow.

It took two days to clear a road through the streets of Shuangqiao Town, thanks to the hard work of many ordinary people and government officials.

Shops that had been closed for several days reopened their doors.

Shuangqiao Town has returned to its former bustling state.

"Have you heard? A lot of houses have had their roofs collapse under the weight of the snow! It's really terrible."

"That's right! When the roof of the house across from mine collapsed, it crushed an old woman to death. Oh dear, with this snow, how many people will die? There's so much more snow than last year. How capricious is the heavens."

"Sigh, I hope it won't snow again this winter. For us ordinary people, repairing a house once means a whole year's work is wasted."

"You should be content. Our town is considered good. Those villages with mud houses and wooden houses, who knows how many people have died there. After our county magistrate cleared the roads, he left the town with his officials and hasn't been seen since. He's probably busy with these matters."

"It's not easy for anyone. I just hope we can have a peaceful year. Anyway, let's go to Yan's Restaurant for hot pot. I'm freezing, and I'm really craving it. Can you smell it? The hot pot smells so good."

Yan Xia stood on the balcony of the pastry shop, looking down at the crowd below.

The three women who had just spoken entered her restaurant.

They told me that many people had died in the villages outside the city.

Yan Xia was somewhat worried about Baihua Village.

I don't know what's going on.

The snow hasn't melted yet, so she can't go back unless she uses her spatial abilities.

But with such thick snow, it's impossible to explain how she got across using spatial methods; it would likely expose her, so let's forget about it.

There's no rush.